Monthly Archives: April 2016

We are not huge sweet eaters in this house. Well, at least the adults aren’t. If it were up to the children it would be cookies and cake at every meal. We simply don’t keep sweets around, and only have them for the rare treat. When I do decide to indulge, I almost always go for something bursting with the fruits that are in season at that particular time of year. Pies, cobblers, and the likes are my go to dessert for most occasions, mostly because they rely mainly on the sweetness of the fruit rather than copious amounts of extra sugar, but partly because I am just not that great at baking cakes. I really want to be, so when I saw Yossy Arefi’s book Sweeter off the Vine available, using seasonal fruits in every kind of dessert you can imagine, I was excited.

From apple fritters to wine roasted figs with honeyed ricotta to caramel swirled roasted squash ice cream sandwiches to blackberry and sage cream puffs, there are some very inspiring recipes in this book that show the versatility of fruit in dessert while still letting them sing.

I am a big fan of the simplicity of loaf cakes, I saw her recipe for cherry and poppy seed yogurt cake and knew I had to try it with some of the amazing strawberries that have been popping up at the markets. I decided to substitute lemon for the limes the original recipe called for. Thinking what a clever one I was, I sat down this morning to read through the recipe and saw a note at the bottom suggesting trying it with other berries and lemon juice. Well, this is it, my not so creative adaptation.

Needless to say, this was a delicious and a very quick to throw together dessert. It was light and fluffy, not overly sweet, and full of flavor. I look forward to trying it with cherries when they come into season.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter or line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper (I use scissors to cut the corners to fit the pan perfectly).

For the Streusel: In a small bowl mix the flour, oats, sugar, poppy seeds, salt, and sugar. Stir in the small cubes of butter, breaking them up with your spoon if they stick together. Set aside.

For the cake: In a medium sized bowl mix the flour, baking powder, poppy seeds, salt, sugar, and lemon zest. In another bowl mix the eggs, yogurt, oil, and lemon juice and whisk to combine. Make a well in the flour and pour the wet mix into the dry mix. Stir to combine. Fold in 1 cup of the of the strawberries.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and place the remaining 3/4 cup of the strawberries on the top. Sprinkle the streusel in an even layer over the strawberries. Bake until golden and a small knife inserted in the middle comes outs clean, about 40-50 minutes. Let come to room temperature before slicing.

Hello! I am Cedar, a wife and mama of two. I am passionate about whole foods and have always felt a strong push to DIY everything I can. I enjoy sewing, knitting, reading, cooking, and thrifting for vintage goodies. I am a country mouse living in the city and looking forward to the day I can get back to the land. Thank you for stopping by, I would love to hear from you!